Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times
- Four years ago, fresh off his star-making keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama challenged the television industry to live up to its responsibility as the country’s “most powerful media” and accurately reflect the population of the United States. “TV ought to reflect the reality of America’s diversity and should do so with pride and dignity, not with stereotypes,” he told the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
But as Obama prepares to move into the White House next month, he and his family will be hard pressed to find blacks like them represented on any of the major networks – ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox.
In fact, not only will they have great difficulty locating any black family in a leading role on the networks, they also will see it’s nearly impossible to find a scripted comedy or drama that features a young person of color in a central role.
